Field Sales Unscripted

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [01:22] - From interning for IBM to building an illustrious 34-year sales and management career.
• [03:16] - Becoming a career salesperson.
• [06:37] - Why it’s critical to master how to have highly effective interpersonal conversations with customers.
• [09:56] - The ineffective sales training strategy that is hurting your organization and how to turn things around.
• [15:35] - Setting guidelines and expectations so you never have to micromanage.
• [20:01] - Seller motivation: Why it matters and how to decode it.
• [22:15] - Challenges that women in sales face that their male counterparts don’t.
• [23:09] - Teaching sales agility at all levels of an organization.
• [26:50] - The best sales management and leadership advice ever.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I had a chat with Michelle Vazzana, the Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for VantagePoint Performance, a global sales management training and development firm. She co-authored “Cracking the Sales Management Code: The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance,” a book about developing sales strategy and generating company results. 

Michelle has personally trained and coached thousands of salespeople, sales managers, and sales leaders. She has designed and facilitated programs for effective sales management, coaching and reinforcement, face-to-face selling, major account sales strategy, and telesales.

VantagePoint is the leading global sales effectiveness firm and the only sales performance organization that offers diagnostic base training and consulting solutions. She has more than 34 years of sales and management experience and is a prolific researcher and sought-after speaker. She has conducted the most extensive research on the topic of sales coaching practices and is the author of “Crashing Quota”

Michelle will talk about the key fundamentals of sales management and sales coaching like what sales managers can do to create programs that fit their seller's circumstances and why sales agility is critical to high performance. She will also share her knowledgeable insights on sales innovation, sales management research, and evidence-based best practices of top performers. If you’re a sales associate, manager, executive, or anyone looking to up your sales management game, then don’t miss this episode.

Quotes

“Sales more than ever before just requires flexibility and agility” - Michelle Vazzana

“Management is a lot more science, sales is a lot more art” - Michelle Vazzana

“The most successful sales managers put a process in place and give their sellers predictability in the way they manage” - Michelle Vazzana

“Organizations can’t depend on their sales managers to be the primary trainers of their salespeople. And when they do that, it burns out the manager, and it underserves the seller” - Michelle Vazzana

“No matter how good your sales training is, your manager has to coach to it and reinforce it” - Michelle Vazzana

“The only time micromanagement is necessary is when you have an underperformer” - Michelle Vazzana

“When you set guidelines and expectations, you won’t have to micromanage because your sales team will be very clear on what you expect, why you expect it, and how it’s gonna help them ” - Michelle Vazzana

Resources Mentioned:

• Cracking the Sales Management Code By Michelle Vazzana and Jason Jordan - https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Sales-Management-Code-Performance/dp/0071765735/ref
• Crushing Quota By Michelle Vazzana and Jason Jordan- https://www.amazon.com/Crushing-Quota-Coaching-Breakthrough-Performance/dp/1260121151/ref

Learn More About Michelle Vazzana in the Links Below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-vazzana/
• Website - https://www.vantagepointperformance.com/

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [00:21] - Why women in sales month exists and how to increase the number of women in sales.
• [02:40] - Retaining the women in your sales team.
• [04:34] - Getting more women into sales management and sales leadership.
• [08:22] - Giving women in sales a voice when they’re not around.
• [10:24] - Ensuring the work you do impacts the future of your organization

In this Women in Sales Month episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I will talk about how can organizations increase their sales team diversity by recruiting more women. One of the largest challenges that women face in sales is overcoming bias and stereotypes. Many think of jobs in this industry as positions men excel at because of the aggressive nature associated with sales. Women’s sales abilities are often underestimated, and this viewpoint has become a common unconscious bias among individuals in sales. 

So how can organizations go about hiring more saleswomen? First, they must acknowledge the added benefits women in sales can bring to the workplace and then seek to understand the challenges they face. They must then take the necessary steps to attract and retain them. And I’ll share exactly how to go about that in this value-packed 13-minute episode so stay tuned.

Quotes

“Many women that are in technical roles don’t think that they can be in sales because they don’t see anyone like them and there’s no one mentoring them” - Wesleyne

“If you want to increase the number of women in sales you should become a self proclaimed ally” - Wesleyne

“In order to get more women into sales management and sales leadership, it goes back to that individualized coaching plan” - Wesleyne

“There are still so few women in business-to-business sales” - Wesleyne

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [01:09] - His long journey to becoming a sales leader.
• [04:14] - How to know if it’s time to move to a new role.
• [06:26] - Navigating the ups and downs of being a new sales leader.
• [11:20] - The Wild West of managing managers.
• [14:04] - Striking a balance between managing and leading in any management position.
• [18:58] - Yesware - helping high-performing sales teams do meaningful email outreach at scale.
• [25:01] - Why you should allow your salespeople to think outside the box and do things on their own.
• [27:00] - Mentoring, coaching, and leading your salespeople: What sales leadership should look like.
• [28:39] - One of the most challenging situations he has faced as CEO.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I had a chat with Joel Stevenson, the CEO of Yesware, a leader in sales productivity software. Prior to Yesware, Joel was the GM and Founder of Wayfair's B2B division which he grew to several hundred million in revenue. He began his Wayfair career by leading the company's home improvement products division, followed by his role as Managing Director of Wayfair UK, where he drove the growth of the company's international presence. 

Joel then served as Vice President of FP&A while Wayfair was making the transition to a public company. Before joining Wayfair, Joel held a variety of sales and marketing roles at Ariba, Innovus, and Verizon and was a consultant at ZS Associates. Joel earned an M. B. A. from the Yale School of Management, a B. S. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois, and studied Chinese at Harvard-Beijing Academy.

Join us as we look back at Joel’s early career in sales and tech and the common ideas that have run through all of his work. We also talk about employing software and technology to optimize sales processes, how sales managers can boost productivity and create great work environments, what sales leadership should really look like, and so much more. I hope you gain as much value as I did from all the wisdom that Joel had to share.

Quotes

“You’re gonna typically get better results if you tailor your management style to the individual person and how that person operates and what they’re motivated by and what they need to do to get better” - Joel Stevenson

“The best thing you can do is understand the way that somebody makes decisions and how they reach a certain judgment, and then try to help that person get better at that process” - Joel Stevenson

“You really want your sales rep to be the person that’s gonna take what your company offers and match it up with what another company needs” - Joel Stevenson

Learn More About Joel Stevenson in the Links Below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelstevensongm/
• Website - https://www.yesware.com/
• Email - [email protected]

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [01:00] - The journey to becoming the Acquisition King in the high ticket space.
• [04:00] - Lessons he learned working for his dad.
• [07:11] - How to achieve work-life balance as an entrepreneur.
• [11:30] - Climbing out of a sales rejection rut to become a consistent closer.
• [14:37] - Setting up sales teams for the biggest online influencers.
• [16:58] - Making the magic happen by providing value in your follow-ups.
• [21:09] - Mastering the art of the one-call close.
• [24:35] - Stepping out on his own to become an entrepreneur.
• [26:57] - How meeting Bedros Keuilian helped him become a great leader.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I interviewed Richard Mugica, the Founder of 1 Call Closers, a sales agency that has worked with influencers such as Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, Robby Blanchard, Bedros Keuilian, Anik Singal, and many others, to scale their online offers to one million a month. He is passionate about building rockstar high-ticket sales teams and scaling online education companies. 

Richard got his humble start on the sales floor and from that passion has now sold over $40M in high-ticket products, building more than 13 multi-million dollar sales teams. He is now well known in the online space as the go-to source to acquire, train and manage closers who will outperform. One thing Richard highlights in this episode is the fact that closing deals is a craft within the craft of sales. 

He shares how he discovered his strength in closing deals and how the need to survive necessitated his success. He will talk to us about the power of following up and why rookie salespeople should shadow the best sellers in their companies. Stay tuned for more. 

Quotes

“At some point in your entrepreneurial journey, you’re gonna feel like the weight of the world is on you and you gotta make decisions and the way you make those decisions is gonna determine your future” - Richard Mugica

“The follow-up is just a way of getting in front of your customer” - Richard Mugica

“Most salespeople should have an inclination and be motivated by money. It’s a lot easier in the sales game if you’re motivated by money” - Richard Mugica

“Not everybody is motivated by money, but if you are, it’s a lot easier to go out there and try to crash and slam deals” - Richard Mugica

Learn More About Richard Mugica in the Links Below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmugica/
• Website - https://1callclosers.com/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richard_mugica/

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [01:01] - The journey to becoming the Founder/CEO of a disruptive SaaS company.
• [07:37] - Learning from 10 different failures to achieve success in building a successful enterprise.
• [10:31] - Escaping the rat race: The driving force that pushed him to become an entrepreneur.
• [13:58] - Why you need to find mentors who are at least ten times richer and wiser than you.
• [15:54] - Applying confidence and consistency towards growing a business exponentially.
• [22:55] - What DropFunnels does and how having tech and SaaS tools that talk can help you grow your business.
• [29:41] - How his personal and professional life impacted how he leads today.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I had a chat with Jordan "Jordo" Mederich, the Founder and CEO of DropFunnels, an all-in-one marketing platform to build your sales funnels, courses, websites, and more, all on a WordPress infrastructure for infinite organic traffic and Google rankings. Jordan is passionate about innovation and disruptive advertising tools. He always brings humor and insight to everything that he does. He’s also an award-winning filmmaker with his content seen on Netflix, Amazon Prime, NBC, CBS, ABC, and many more.

When he isn't busy changing the landscape of online marketing, he enjoys spending time with his wife and sons fishing in the beautiful lakes of Wisconsin. Jordan was very candid in sharing how DropFunnels allows people to easily build sales funnels on WordPress, how it can help you get the best results from your lead generation strategies, why empathy and integrity are critical in sales leadership and leadership in general, what it really takes to succeed as an entrepreneur, and so much more. Make sure you tune in. You’ll gain a ton of value.

Quotes

“The concept of borrowing ethics from your early life into your professional life is what helps you to stay in alignment” - Jordan Mederich

“Entrepreneurship is the constant willingness and acceptance to face obstacles consistently and persistently” - Jordan Mederich

“Consistency is confidence in action” - Jordan Mederich

Learn More About Jordan Mederich in the Links Below:

• Email him at [email protected]
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanmederich/
• Website - https://dropfunnels.com/

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [01:08] - From poor Generation Zero immigrant to Dr. Jim Kanichirayil.
• [06:45] - The life experiences that informed his current leadership style.
• [11:25] - Decision making = What’s right for the customer, company, and your ethics.
• [17:03] - How he got the doctor's title in front of his name.
• [20:32] - Becoming an expert in sales, leadership, talent strategy, and diversity.
• [27:23] - Why you need to be more in the background as a sales leader.
• [33:36] - Having the mindset of a three-year-old and why it’s so powerful.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I interviewed Dr. Jim Kanichirayil, talent strategy transformation evangelist at Circa and host of The Cascading Leadership Podcast. Jim helps leaders, people, and organizations drive transformations by helping them build elite diverse teams. He also makes sure that their talent strategy doesnt get left behind. Dr. Jim tells us what modern sales leaders can do to attract, retain and develop more talent and how a shift in mindset has to happen for that to be achievable. 

We talked a lot about empowering your sales team and the different ways to do it, why sales should be a solutions engine and not just a product source, and how sales leaders can expand their capabilities. Jim will also share the kind of conversations leaders should have with their teams to create more commitment and engagement. Tune for that and so much more in all things sales success.

Quotes

“Your actual production and your performance as an organization is going to be related to the diversity within the organization” - Jim Kanichirayil

“More diverse organizations have better business outcomes than non-diverse organizations” - Jim Kanichirayil

“If you do what’s right for the customer, what’s right for the company, what’s right from an ethics perspective, everything else falls in line” - Jim Kanichirayil

“A modern seller is a problem solver” - Jim Kanichirayil

“If you as a seller orient yourself outward to how you can help your broader customer base solve the problems that they have and be obsessed about the problem, that’s actually going to advance everything that you want without you actually overtly advocating for those things” - Jim Kanichirayil

“You should be hiring with the mindset of hiring a replacement” - Jim Kanichirayil

“Never be afraid of people that are better than you because that’s the only way that you’re actually gonna get better” - Jim Kanichirayil

“Don’t be afraid of being wrong because that’s actually where your leaps of innovation happen versus just getting the right answer” - Jim Kanichirayil

Learn More About Jim Kanichirayil in the Links Below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjimk
• Website - https://circaworks.com/
• Jim’s Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cascading-leadership-the-show/id1609547560

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [01:13] - Becoming the number one elite enterprise sales director at Salesforce.
• [05:26] - From selling $10,000 copiers to being a more strategic salesperson.
• [09:45] - Mastering your message and the skills you need to sell change.
• [12:33] - Selling is helping: Why you must be an outward-focused salesperson.
• [16:17] - Underperforming for 3 years and how investing in himself changed everything.
• [21:59] - Why you must adopt a no-pressure sales strategy.
• [27:28] - How to be a more successful enterprise seller.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I chatted with Ian Koniak, the Founder and President of Ian Koniak Sales Coaching, Inc. He’s a sales coach, sales trainer, and keynote speaker. He helps B2B account executives perform to their full potential and crush their quotas by mastering the mindset, habits, and skills needed to perform at the highest level. As the former number one AE at Salesforce, his program is built by an AE for AE’s based on what works. 

Prior to starting his own business, he worked in B2B technology sales for 19 years at F500 tech companies as an individual contributor, sales manager, and director of sales, with over 100M in career sales and numerous finishes at number one nationally, including finishing number one in the US Enterprise Select Division of Salesforce. Most recently, he worked as a strategic account director for the enterprise west sales team at Salesforce where he partnered with their largest customers to help them drive growth, innovation, and success on the Salesforce platform. 

At Ricoh, he led a team of 10 sales managers and 70 reps responsible for 60M annual revenue across hardware, software, and services. After a near-death experience, he started his coaching business to serve others and help them achieve incredible success by mastering the mindset, habits, and skills needed to perform at the highest level. Ian will share why you should transition from transactional to strategic selling, the qualities of top-performing sellers, how to sell big deals to big accounts, how he became the king of enterprise sales, why investing in yourself is critical, and so much more. So don’t miss out.

Quotes

“The selling motion of selling change is much different than the selling motion of selling cost savings for products that are already being used” - Ian Koniak

“Selling is helping” - Ian Koniak

“You have to make that transition from an inward-focused salesperson to an outward-focused salesperson who cares more about helping your clients get the results that they want” - Ian Koniak

Learn More About Ian Koniak in the Links Below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/iankoniak/
• Website - https://iankoniak.com/
• https://www.UntapYourSalesPotential.com/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/IanKoniak

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [00:33] - How the fear of rejection affects salespeople.
• [02:58] - Why even the best sales leaders are afraid of failing.
• [04:17] - Do you fear success? Time to put an end to that.
• [07:30] - Identifying and overcoming your fear once and for all.
• [10:47] - Succeeding in your sales career by promoting yourself.
• [12:06] - Getting the support you need to move forward. 

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I talk about fear and how it affects salespeople and sales leaders. Fear can destroy confidence, create doubt, and snatch the joy from life. It has many names, can be invisible, holds no prejudice, and has lots of allies that work in tandem to self-sabotage. The fear of selling and rejection among salespeople can occur in response to certain unforeseen situations developing, for instance, a high-profile client canceling. 

It can also occur in anticipation or expectation of future challenges, such as having to explain to the leadership that the biggest client is canceling, and the threat these, in turn, pose to the opportunity for a promotion or financial bonus. The fact is, fear affects both individual contributors and sales leaders in equal measure. But what if you identify it, call it out, and use it for positive gain? Stay tuned because that’s exactly what I’ll address in this value-packed 13-minute episode. I’ll mention the three different types of fear that affect salespeople and share how you can overcome them.

Quotes

“The worst thing you can do as a sales leader is follow the status quo” - Wesleyne Greer

“All types of fear hold you back as a sales leader” - Wesleyne Greer

“As a sales leader, when you operate with a fear mindset, that resonates down to your team” - Wesleyne Greer

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [01:30] - Working for a company for over 2 decades without losing interest.
• [05:12] - From being the brains behind the scenes to taking up a sales role.
• [10:25] - Making the decision to slowly shift towards sales leadership.
• [12:43] - The critical importance of prioritization and time management.
• [17:11] - Great sales teams founded on a culture of selflessness and empathy.
• [22:25] - Never Eat Alone: Why you should mentor and support fellow salespeople.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I interviewed the Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Strategy at Telos Alliance, Marty Sacks. Marty has been with Telos Alliance for over two decades. He’s held a variety of roles in sales, business, and product development and currently oversees the company’s strategic efforts. 

Marty started his career in radio in Washington in 1976 and has worked in engineering, equipment sales, and trade publishing. He joined Telos in 1999 as national sales director. He will be very candid about his incredible journey from being the behind-the-scenes tech guru making things happen to the effective sales leader that he is today. Tune in to tap into the immense sales leadership wisdom he had to share.

Quotes

“To a certain extent, leading means serving” - Marty Sacks

“The best quality of a leader is caring for the people that are on their team and helping them succeed” - Marty Sacks

“One of the things that are difficult for a sales leader is to maintain the success of a business while you’re trying to change the business” - Marty Sacks

“You constantly have to prioritize as a sales leader” - Marty Sacks

“If you make mistakes, if you learn from your mistakes, I think you’re gonna succeed because most people are afraid to stretch and make a mistake, and they like a comfort zone, but nobody grows in a comfort zone” - Marty Sacks

Learn More About Marty Sacks in the Links Below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marty-sacks-17ba99
• Email - [email protected]

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]

Get FREE Sales Leadership Resources at go.transformedsales.com/pod

Highlights

• [00:48] - Becoming a sales team-building and problem-solving guru.
• [05:25] - Transferring his skills from the education sector into sales.
• [12:57] - Taking up a sales manager role and killing it where many had failed.
• [14:58] - How to ensure your sales team (Including the remote team) performs as expected.
• [20:26] - Strategies for establishing core values that will keep your sales team winning.
• [27:28] - Why being vulnerable as a sales leader is so powerful.
• [31:51] - The great potential of a sales team that takes ownership of their business.
• [36:40] - Being passionate about making the world a better place.

In this episode of the Transformed Sales Podcast, I interviewed Michael Peveler, the Vice President of Sales at AtlasIED, a company that manufactures next-generation communication systems and commercial audio/video products that protect, inform, and entertain within the education, transportation, hospitality, industrial, security, and corporate markets.

Michael is a senior executive with a proven track record of planning and executing business objectives. He has a strong business management background with expertise in training, development, strategic planning, and market development. He’s a problem-solving team leader and he loves what he does. 

Michael will share his wealth of knowledge in sales with us and talk about his many years in sales leadership after transitioning from education. He will also teach us what it takes to build a strong sales team that will stand the test of time and keep your business growing in the long term. Stay tuned!

Quotes

“To be a salesperson, you gotta be willing to learn, teach others, help your co-workers, and share experiences. All of that is a critical part of going and being successful in what salespeople do on a daily basis” - Michael Peveler

“It’s really important as a sales leader to be transparent” - Michael Peveler

“You lead with culture first and foremost” - Michael Peveler

“As a sales leader, your job is to remove obstacles for your team” - Michael Peveler

Learn More About Michael Peveler in the Links Below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peveler/
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/PevelerMichael

Connect with Wesleyne Greer:

• Wesleyne’s Website - https://transformedsales.com/
• Wesleyne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleynegreer/
• Wesleyne on Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/wesleynegreer
• Wesleyne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/wesleynegreer
• Email Her at [email protected]